Range Day Drills- Handgun

Spend some time letting off some steam and getting the Glock 17 that I had coated running again. I'll never use the same person to coat a firearm for me, it's been a real pain to get the thing up and running. It was a semi auto for a long time, then after I ran some of my home brew Verboten 9mm Major through it in desperation, it's back to it's reliable self. 9mm Major is just hopped up 9mm that is way past pressure limits. One load I have is a 124g 9mm bullet traveling at 1480 fps. I wasn't running that load, more like a 124g +p+ was what I used. Winchester Ranger +p+ is almost identical to this load I used. The super hot load is marked 9mm Glock Killer just to make sure I don't grab it. The cases are also a different color.

I did some standard drills, working mostly on draw and fire. I use a bird's tweet as my "GO" for the exercise. Here are the exercises I did yesterday with about 300 rounds of fire.

Warm up- 1 round each at 4 2" circles from 7 yards. Slow fire at first, increase tempo slightly when you start back to the first circle. Reload from your belt at each start over. This expends 12 rounds and gets you a light warm up. You don't get a warm up for gun fights, so I limit mine severely.

Draw and fire- 10 pushups, 10 situps then set up 7 yards from target in the 12 O'clock position, facing the target. When I hear a bird cheep, tweet or caw, I deploy and fire 2 rounds center mass. Run to the target and mark your shots. Run back and set up in the 3 O'clock position for the same drill. You go through this drill running the 4 directions( 12, 3, 6, 9 O'clock). You should be wearing your normal attire for CCW. I had my SOE EDC belt, Bladetech Eclipse holster and Blade tech mag carrier. I was wearing a Tshirt and Blackhawk button down overshirt, unbuttoned. I recently purchased some Kuhl Renegade pants on special and was trying them out for the first time

I repeated this draw and fire exercise at 7 and 3 yards, setting the standard IDPA target up at 6'4" to the top to simulate the aggressor being significantly taller than me. Usually your adversary will choose a smaller target than themselves. I'm of medium height so I normally train for a larger opponent. I will do another set of 10 pushups and 10 sit ups between yardage change.

The wind was whipping pretty good and a couple times it pushed my shirt into my draw, causing a slight bobble. Good training for the real world. I don't top off mags, when they run dry, I do a mag change. I also run 10 round mags, just for more reloading. I repeated the drill 2x at 3 and 7 yards. This expends 32 rounds.

We are 44 rounds in, and you should be panting a bit from running and calisthenics.

Draw, Fire, Move, Fire- Set up in the 6 O'clock position, 7 yards away from the target. Wait for the bird, turn and fire 3 rounds center mass. Move to "cover" while covering the target. I use barrels that are set up at the range. I move it around to make the moving to cover the most difficult possible. Moving at 45 degrees away from the target while covering the target is about as hard as it gets. Once you reach cover, head shot. I'm usually 30-40 feet from the target for the head shot.

Move your "cover" each time you run this drill. I will also move my start position and direction from target. I ran this drill about 10 times. It's important to drill yourself that cover is life. Accuracy is king, so mark your shots after each drill to make you think about your hits. 30 rounds

Next is the fun.
Shooting to cover- Setup as last drill, except this time, draw and fire all the way to cover. Aimed fire, try not to lose any rounds off target. If you're losing rounds, slow down. Once I get to cover, I run two more rounds into center mass from cover. This expends 10-12 rounds per run.

Shoot to target. Start from behind cover and fire while advancing to the target. Setup in any direction you want, wait for the bird, advance while directing accurate fire on target. I usually start hitting center mass with the first rounds, then adjust fire to head and hips as I advance. Once you get good at this, move barrels or cones into your path, making you have to move side to side while advancing. One of the last things I do for this drill is to double stack barrels and run this course of fire while while having the target obstructed by the barrels. 12-14 rounds per run. This drill can be run Left to Right or Right to Left through the barrels, or you can do figure 8's around the barrel while firing. Whatever you like.

The object is to keep your pulse rate and breathing up while you practice your shooting skills. A standard square range is all that's needed. If you have a training partner, have them move things around on you while you are set up to keep you guessing.

I ran the last course of fire with the REPR twice, transitioning to the handgun for a 2 center/1 headshot when getting close to the target.

The new Ruger 10/22 take down was used today as well. Ran a couple runs shooting to cover with it. I also ran the Glock 22 from the Minuteman Cache #2 after installing Night Sights on it. It's now shooting 3 inches low at 7 yards. Ugh.

My shooting wasn't as good as expected, but with the issues I had getting the 17 to run, plus the 22's sights being off, I only lost 3 rounds off target, usually when trying for the head shot. I was pretty beat by the last few runs, and it showed.

Try to fine a range that allows you to shoot and move. If you're standing still and shooting at the same target, in the same direction, from the same shooting position, you're plinking, not training.